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Prior backs Bairstow to cement keeper’s role
- Updated: May 18, 2016
Matt Prior, the former England wicketkeeper, has backed Jonny Bairstow to start the international season as a more complete gloveman after having some valuable time to work on his game.
Bairstow took over the gloves from Jos Buttler in the final Test against Pakistan in Sharjah – after Buttler’s runs dried up – then retained them for the series against South Africa. While he cemented his standing as a batsman of pedigree by scoring a maiden Test century in Cape Town, his work behind the stumps remained under scrutiny with chances being missed.
After the Test series Bairstow did not feature in the ODIs and was not part of the World T20 squad. Apart from a one-match flying visit to the Pakistan Super League in the UAE he was able to take a break from the middle until pre-season with Yorkshire and Prior believes it will have been time well spent.
“You have one guy who is scoring a lot of runs but has made a few mistakes behind the stumps and one guy whose glovework had gone up a huge amount but wasn’t scoring the runs,” Prior told ESPNcricinfo. “Jonny is the man in possession, he did well in South Africa with the bat and he’s had time to go away and work on the things with his wicketkeeping.
“I think this period has been quite good for Jonny, he’s been out of the shop window, and he’s been able to go to the training ground …
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